A pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) group, Concerned Voters Movement (CVM), has raised concerns about IMANI Africa’s good review for former President John Mahama’s recent Facebook Live session.

Founder and president of the group, Razak Kojo Opoku, said in a press release that the standards of the renowned think tank have fallen.

According to him, the think tank failed to properly scrutinise the Facebook Live event and its timing before scoring high marks for the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“It is very sad when a respectable policy think tank reduces Key Performance Indicators to Facebook Live Q&A,” he stated.

Following the Facebook Live event by john Mahama, Founding President the think tank, Franklin Cudjoe, urged President Nana Akufo-Addo to also conduct a similar exercise.

According to Mr Cudjoe, Mahama has shown “such depth” and did “pretty well” in the Questions and Answer session too, applauding John Mahama for taking advantage of digitisation and Covid-19 to get all the online eyeballs.

But in a statement issued in Accra, Razak Kojo Opoku said Ghana’s evolving democracy was under threat due to the show of “ignorance and arrogance by some policy think tanks like IMANI Africa and other mushroom Civil Society Organisations.” 

Mr Razak Kojo Opoku urged IMANI Africa to tell the nation the benefit of former President Mahama’s Facebook event.

“Nothing meaningful has come out of it. No sensible alternative policy has been formulated by Mahama and his Covid-19 Team. It has been the usual jokes of ‘I will review' or ‘I will consult,’” the group’s founder said.

He said governance was a serious business that involves problem solving, and commended President Nana Akufo-Addo for being on top of the fight against the coronavirus.

“President Akufo-Addo has been busily engaging relevant stakeholders, holding strategic meetings, reaching consensus and having serious discussions at Cabinet, all geared towards ensuring the safety of the lives of Ghanaians, as well as stabilising the economy for the collective good of Ghanaians in post Covid-19,” the pro-NPP group said.

He also urged former President John Mahama to stop taking to Facebook and “professing incoherent views on the issues about coronavirus pandemic” and rather support President Akufo-Addo in doing critical thinking and consultation with experts on the best way forward.